House-door letter-box



(No Model.)

J. A.FAW.

HOUSE DOOR LETTER BOX. No. 476,139. Patented Ma'y 31, 1892;.

v w s UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

JACK A. FAV, OF BRISTOL, TENNESSEE.

HOUSE-DOOR LETTER-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 476,139, dated May 31, 1892.

Application filed September 24;, 1891- Serial No. 4061 (N0 model-l T0 66% whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JACK A. FAVV, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Bristol, in the county of Sullivan and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mailer Letter Boxes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in letter-boxes.

The object of the invention is to provide a cheap, simple, and effective receptacle for mail-matter which can be readily opened to expose a slot through which the letters are passed, the box or receptacle being provided with signaling and locking means, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure l is a vertical sectional view showing the letter-box open. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation, the back or covering plate being removed. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view showing the letter-box closed.

A refers to a frame, which may be a part of a door door-frame, or other part of a building, and to this frame may be attached a suitable coveringplate or a mail receptacle, though in some instances no covering-plate is used and the mail falls beyond the opening after being deposited in the letter-box. This frame is preferably rectangular in construction and is provided at a suitable point with a cross-bar B, with which a catch engages, as will be hereinafter described.

0 refers to the door, which is hinged at its lower end to the frame A, said door being normally projected or thrown open by a spring a, which is rigidly attached to the frame at one end, the opposite end bearing against a plate carried by the door.

D refers to a metallic section, which is secured to the inner sides of the frame A, the front portion of the upper part thereof being extended downward, as shown at cl, to engage with the upwardly-projecting lip or flange e of a section E, which is pivoted at its lower end to the frame A. This section E is provided with a slot or aperture 6, through which passes the rod 13, hereinbefore referred to. To the inner side of the door 0 is secured a frame or section F, which has an upturned lip or flangef for engagement with the downwardly-extending flange e of the section E, and this frame or section F has its sides slotted to pass over the bar 13 and is also apertured at E for the reception of one end of a pivoted bar H, the purpose of which will be hereinafter explained. The upper cross-piece of the section E has a slot or aperture m, through which the mail-matter is passed The sections E and F being pivoted at their lower ends and free to swing a limited distance upon the pivot and hinge provides a receptacle when a hinged or removable backing-plate is attached to the frame A, the upper end of which may be extended to expose the opening therein.

In order to retain the door 0 in a closed position, I provide the same with a hook or catch E, which is pivoted thereto and engages with the cross-bar B, said catch being operated by a push-button E which engages with one end thereof. When the catch is released from the rigid cross-bar B by pushing upon the button E the upper portion of the receptacle will be automatically extended by the spring a, which is rigidly attached at one end to the frame A, the opposite end bearing upon a plate carried by the door 0, so as toexpose the opening in the door, and when the door is closed the catch will automatically lock the same.

Adjacent to the push-button for operating the catchI provide an alarm mechanism, which consists of a push-button G, extending through the door to operate the cross-bar l-I, one end of which is pivoted to the door, while the opposite end may carry a contact-plate to close an electric circuit and sound an annunciator, or it may release an ordinary springactuated alarm. It will be noted that this alarm may be used independent of the mailbox as a call-bell.

In the modification (see Fig. 3) I have shown a construction in which both the alarm and catch mechanisms are operated by pushing the one button, and which consists in pivoting the catch E in a vertical position, so that when the push-button engages with the upper end thereof it will operate the bar H to sound an alarm and then release the hooked end thereof from the cross-bar. With this construction an alarm is sounded every time the mail-box is operated to expose the opening therein. As a further precaution against the mail-matter being extracted and to prevent the same from interfering with the operation of the alarm mechanism I provide within the receptacle a plate I, which is attached to the section F and depends vertically below the cross-bar B, said plate moving with the section carried by the door, the lower end thereof striking against the bar B to incline or bend it when the door is opened and the slot exposed, so that the mail-matter will be guided to the lower portion of the receptacle when aback is attached to the opening in the casing.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In amail-box or letter-receptacle, a frame having an extensible section pivoted within the opening of the frame, a hinged door carrying a section adapted to engage with the pivoted section, said sections being slotted, as shown,a cross-bar carried by the main frame, and a latch carried by the door and adapted to engage with the cross-bar, substantially as shown, and for the purposeset forth.

2. In a letter box or receptacle, a frame having a door hinged thereto, a cross-bar carried by the frame, a latch attached to the door so as to engage with the cross-bar, and means for sounding an alarm carried by the door and frame, substantially as shown, and for the purpose set forth.

3. In aletter box or receptacle, the combination of an apertured frame having a downwardly-extending ledge a, a section E, pivotally secured at its lower end to the frame,

a door 0, carrying a section F, which is adapted to engage with the section E, and a hingefor engagement with the downwardly-extending flange of the frame A, an aperture or slot m in the upper portion of said pivoted section, a door hinged at its lower end to the frame and provided with a section F, having an upturned flange which engages with the downturned flange of the section E, a spring for normally extending said sections, a cross-bar B, carried by the frame A, and a latch carried by the door for engagement therewith, the side pieces of the sections E and F being slotted, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, in a letter or mail box composed of an apertured frame, of pivoted section E, hinged bar, across-bar B, with which locking mechanism engages, and a spring guard-plate I, carried by the section F, substantially as shown, and for the purpose set forth.

6. In a letter-box, the combination of a frame having a door hinged thereto, a pivoted section connecting the frame and door, a latch carried by the door and adapted to engage with a bar carried by the frame, so as to hold the door normally closed, and an alarm mechanism carried by the door and frame, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' JACK A. FAW. Witnesses:

E. W. JOHNSON, H. S. BEALL. 

